State Topics

Small businesses across America are seeing sales and use tax audits. Why? Because it generates more tax revenue than the state's personnel expense to conduct the audit. Here are some suggestions to help make a sales/use tax audit less stressful. Read article

There are certain areas of the tax code that the IRS wishes to focus its auditors' attention. These areas are typically identified by the IRS development of an Audit Technique Guideline to train its staff. Here are some key audit areas of interest. Read article

Determining the value of items on your tax return is always open to interpretation. You do not want that to happen to you during an audit as it can lead to additional tax and penalties. Here are some tips to help defend your Fair Market Value (FMV) determinations. Read article

Too often during the course of an audit, the auditor throws out valid deductions. Not because they did not occur, but soley because you did not provide adequate documentation. Here are ideas to help solve this problem. Read article

At a recent Taxpayer Advocate Forum, it was discovered that some IRS auditors were initiating contact with taxpayers via a phone call. Given the tremendous increase in IRS phone scams, the IRS has confirmed it will not continue with this practice. Read article

One of the most common types of audits is a correspondence audit caused by reporting inconsistencies with information supplied to the IRS. Here is a tip to keep this from happening to you. Read article

Other Topics

The IRS has broad powers to seize bank accounts if it believes there is criminal activity and you are actively trying to avoid their financial transaction reporting requirements. Here is what you should know. Read article

If the alimony you paid does not match the alimony income reported by the person who received the funds you can expect more attention from the IRS. A lot more attention. Here is what is happening. Read article

At the start of each year our mail boxes begin to fill up with information tax forms. They include W-2s, 1098s, 1099s and 1095. If you fail to receive a form, you are still liable for the tax it creates. Here are some tips to avoid this possible audit risk. Read article

Con artists impersonate IRS agents to either intimidate people into making payments over the phone, or to send misleading emails to trick taxpayers. Here are some ideas to ensure this does not happen to you. Read article